A nice crisp snowy afternoon, the sky was covered with grey clouds spilling out small clumps of snow. Luu was sitting in her moms car (yes Luu drives), in the parking lot of the local shopping mall in the middle of town. It was a Saturday, and pay day was yesterday- which is delightful day to experience if you have a job, and you aren’t complaining about the amount your paid an hour. So it shouldn’t irk you, that your paycheck was alittle less than last one. No college today either, all assignments turned in and gotta remember that theres finals next week, can’t procrastinate and end up watching your favorite TV shows, which you’ve been meaning to catch up on- Gawd your so far behind in Supernatural! And there are all new Adventure time episodes that need to be laughed and giggled at! Nizzys been poking your side for acouple days about watching it with him. Plus theres mom and her constant jestering at watching this new action flick with her- saying theres hot men in it, not like I don’t mind much- But that’s beside the point! Luu smacks her forehead on the flame covered stirring wheel and theres a small honk. Letting out a long sigh, Luu snatched up her hand bag which wrapped around her right shoulder- across her chest, it was big enough to stash small miscellaneous objects. Luu rummaged for her car keys in the mess in her bag, successfully pulling out her keys- Luu exited the car and locked it. The cold air wooshing around her head, causing her hair to get in her face, it would be so cool if it was short and she can just shove it inside her hoodie- but meh. Luu held onto her blue hood that is always concealing her eyes, keeping it from being blown off, she hurriedly crossed the busy lane infront of the mall, making sure not to get hit by the crazy drivers that usually zoom around here. Safely inside the store where it was warm and welcoming with its Christmas cheer. Luu liked it when the mall got all decorated with Christmas lights, and such- there was a big charger dressed like a santa ringing a bell outside for charity, Luu always found it abit funny to see every year. She rummaged through her winter coat pocket, pulling out the list of things to scavenge for- since the black Friday was pretty intense this year, a lot of blood and cut throat business indeed. Hopfully theres some good stuff left- she started to wonder through the mall. “Oh it seems there are some new clothes on sale at Victoria secret- erm I shouldn’t- but” Luu then did a sharp turn to the left and entered the Vitoria secret store, she can’t resist the urge to looking through the cute frilly stuff inside.

At the entrance to the mall looking in stood a stocky hunter with his claws on his hips. The angry looking hunter glared at every passing individual that hurried from store to store. He sneered at how busy and happy they looked. Christmas decorations were everywhere, and twinkling lights hung from the walls and ceiling. The sight of holiday decorations only made Scuttle think about how much money he was going to have to burn out of his own pocket. It was probably the only time Scuttle didn’t try to pinch money off his...well he didn’t really have friends now did he? …We’ll call them ‘associates’. Yeah, holiday spirit and all…a stupid reason for Scuttle to actually spend his money on the few loved ones he actually felt a mutual response towards. After being blatantly ignored by all the mall consumers, Scuttle hunched his shoulders forward and slipped his hands into his pockets. Grumbling, he stalked further into the large shopping center.

Every once and a while if something caught Scuttle’s attention, he would glance over into the store window. Most of the time he didn’t even stop though; he had no idea what he was even going to buy…or for who exactly. Scuttle quickly ran though his mental list of those he needed to buy shit for, it didn’t take long considering it only consisted of his three dogs and Knaw. He ground his teeth together at the thought of his stupid little brother. Sure he was annoying as fuck, but he was still Scuttle’s little bro…and he cared about him… kind of. If the hunter were to pass a Claire’s, he would be sure to stop in and pick up a Justin Beiber pillow for the little faggot or something. Maybe even some girly lip-balm or something; Knaw sure did like it that one time Scuttle covered his face in lipstick when he was sleeping in means for a prank. Scuttle snorted and shook his head of the memory and thought; sometimes his little brother disturbed him to levels he did not wish to breech.

Speaking of girly…things… What do we have here? Scuttle stopped in place, turning his head to the right to stare directly into a very very pink store. The brown-haired hunter didn’t even have to look at the store’s sign to know what it was. Victoria Secret…Pft. Scuttle felt a mischievous grin creep onto his face. Normally he wouldn’t think twice about stepping into that nose-stinging store for purchases, but lately Scuttle’s mood had taken a slight rise. His playfulness from before that he thought was long forgotten was slowly returning. He remembered the last time he decided to have fun at Victoria Secret; Jesus Christ, Scuttle had to bite his tongue to stop himself from sniggering.

He hurried across the tiled floor into the wood flooring of the target store. Immediately all of the different perfumes assaulted his nose and made it sting slightly. Snorting briskly, Scuttle crinkled his nose and focused on taking shallow breathes. The large, grey hunter sure did look out of place; he stuck out like a sore thumb if anyone was actually bothering to pay attention to him. He considered himself slightly lucky since it was the holiday season; mostly everyone was only concerned with their own business, quickly trying to get what they need and rushing out. Scuttle finally found himself at a large bin towards the corner of the store that was full to the brim with the stringy under-dressings known as thongs. He picked one of the frilly articles up casually, looking around shiftily before holding it between two fingers and stretching the elastic waistband back and forth. Nice. Alright, so far so good. No one was even giving a fuck that some dirty looking bro was creepin’ over by a pool of skanky looking thongs. God bless America.

After testing a few of the stretchy undergarments, Scuttle picked one up and positioned it on the end of one finger, holding the other end back with his other had like one would do when they were about to fling a rubber band. He closed one eye socket tightly as he took aim, the end of his tongue poking out between his teeth in concentration. Then he let go of the silky underwear and watched it go flying until it hit some chick looking at pajamas in the back of the head. Scuttle choked down a laugh as he quickly ducked down behind the bin before she could turn around. “Pfthh….skrkhk…” His lungs and throat started to burn from holding down his laughter. Ah, he was such a scumbag.

Making sure the coast was clear, Scuttle sneakily stood to his feet again. He grabbed another makeshift slingshot covered in lace, when he suddenly froze. His empty eye sockets were locked on a huntress who was standing at the other end of the store. Was that…? Jesus Christ- Scuttle felt himself swallow nervously. Yeah it was definitely her. “Luu…” He heard himself mutter without even realizing it. Fuck, how long had it been since he saw her!? The hunter shook his head roughly, snarling at the thought that he used to have a crush on her. Scuttle hunched his shoulders like a vulture and simmered a deep growl. Looking over her body, Scuttle couldn’t have imagined why he did… sure she had a nice ass…. but still. The sex-crazed hunter stared at every ass that passed in front of him. He tore his gaze away, finding a sour taste left in his mouth. He hoped he could sneak out before she could notice him; Jesus it would be embarrassing to speak to her after all this time. The hunter lifted his hand to pull down his hood some more to obstruct his entire face, then started walking blinding to what he hoped was the exit.

Aah the sweet perfumes, the lacey- frilly undergarments that are so cute, the shiny wood floors- aah the feminine atmosphere- Then Luu shook her head, stop it Luu don’t get lost in this toxic place, you’ll turn into one of those prep chicks back in high school, she made a sour face . Luu picked up some of that new Britney spears perfume- taking a whiff “Errm alittle too sweet scented for me- bleh” Curse being super nose-sensitive. But this Lady Gaga one is pretty good, I think I might get it- NO! this money is going towards presents for loved ones! Luu frowned and reluctantly put the perfume back on the glass shelf.

Sighing and shuffling away from the perfume rack- a thought came to mind, maybe she’ll get her “beloved” mother something from here, since she hates this place to no end- Mom isn’t really the girly type. Always been the tomboy, but at one point Luu was too- But still maybe get mom a nice pair of decent Pjs would be nice- OH and look a nice big bin full of them- and 50% off, welp I know what moms getting for Christmas! Luu began to dig around in the bin “Okay where is a blue- Ack!” Luu flinched as something small bounced off the top of her head. She looked down to her side and saw a laced pink thong laying on the ground- Luu narrowed her eyes and turning her head slightly around to see if she can spot the culprit. Luu thought it might be one of her college buddies messing with her or maybe her mom. But saw no one she knew, then she noticed a male hunter – he looked rather familar- she knew that sulking form, seen it all the time when he walked to the principles office every day, it was none other then-

“Scuttle?” Luu saw the tall grey hooded hunter, sticking out like a sore thumb in a sea of pink and frilly, lacey. Then she couldn’t help but giggle as it was funny to see him in this particular place.He got really tall, but he still seems to be the same old trouble maker. Why is he in here anyway? Is he shopping for his mom? Or girlfriend? Hes probably the goof ball that shot the elastic thong at your head. Because being him- yeah it was him, heh silly goof. Why he shoot it at me? She shook her head, probably didn’t know it was you.

Luu folded her arms and thought it would be nice to catch up with him, or- maybe not- you only talked to him alittle bit, even though you sat next to him in English all senior year. Then Luu shugged – why not, it be rude not to say hello atleast, him being Knaws older brother, which is Nizzys friend. Luu dropped the pair of blue pjs back in the bin and casually walked over to the hunter trying to sneak out of the store. “Hi Scuttle, long time no see” A smile forming on her face. “Going Christmas shopping for Knaw?”

A bucket of ice seemingly washed over Scuttle’s body and he froze in place. He heard his name being called, and then heard the light footsteps approaching. Uggghh….Grandpa Altair would totally fail my ass in stealth if he knew about this… The hunter slowly turned his head to the left, facing the smaller female huntress who was smiling innocently up at him. He released his grip on his hood which was being pulled over his face tightly. It recoiled back stingily and flopped back behind his head, exposing his short brown hair. With his J.J. Scoops visor still shielding his empty eye sockets from view, he felt no concern for the lowered piece of clothing. “Er…Hi Luu…Uh… Yeah.” Scuttle glanced down at his hand, finding that a thong was still clutched between his fingers. He stared at it flatly, “This is totally Knaw’s Christmas present.” His gravelly voice dripped with sarcasm.

Scuttle dropped his hand back down to his side and shifted his vision back to Luu’s face with a furrowed brow. “No…it’s for my…girlfriend…of course….” He looked back down at it, wondering why he suddenly thought of Kirk. Oh God. Jesus Christ. No. A sneer appeared on Scuttle’s face as he tossed the stringy underwear off to the side, not really giving a shit if it landed on the floor or something. “She’s too fat for that kinda thing anyway.” He found himself grinning a little at the comment, just picturing Kirk’s face if the other actually heard him say that. Oh yeah! Fuck! ….I have to get Kirk something for Christmas…Heheh, shit. For a second I almost remembered him as Jewish… gotta ease up on the Jew jokes. Hmm… Scuttle tried to think of something to get his best friend, also reminded that he should get something for Socca as well. But since he was sort of half-way into this conversation with his old high school classmate, Scuttle found it hard to think. Inwardly, Scuttle told himself to stop being such a dumbass and learn how to multitask.

From his sarcasm before, Scuttle wondered if Luu would catch on that he was actually just joking about having a girlfriend. Exhaling loudly from his nose, Scuttle crossed his arms over his chest and turned to face the huntress. His expression returned to his usual angry looking scowl, yet for some reason he actually didn’t feel pissed off. It was weird; around Luu, Scuttle’s emotions regularly remained neutral. “But yeah, what have you been up to?” He jutted his unshaven chin forward in an angry sort of pout. “Still watching over that little sugarbomb- what’s his name? Nazzy? Nizzy?” He quirked an angry looking eyebrow at her. He had slowly started to edge towards the exit; the sickeningly sweet aromas of the many perfumes were starting to give him a headache.

Luu laughed “Don’t worry I won’t tell anyone you were browsing around in the Victoria secret” she crossed her heart and let alittle grin grow on her lips. She then got alittle distracted by the revealed hair on his head- heh hoodie hair, cute. It reminds Luu of Nizzys messy hair in the morning, he’s so cute when he tries to gel it back- and it ends up making him look like Edward Cullen. Luu remembers sprinkling alittle glitter on his face while he was sleeping once, oh how hard Luu and her mom laughed- while Nizzy tried to clean it all off. She felt bad about afterwards, he had to go to school with glitter on his cheeks.

Luu then realized she was staring- a slight flush grew on her cheeks and she brought her attention back to Scuttle who seemed to have asked her a question- She caught half of it, something about Nizzy. “ Oh- Nizzy? Yeah hes doing good, a bundle of sugary-ness, heh” She felt abit stupid, she hoped he didn’t catch her staring at his hair. And doesn’t think she was being creepy or something. She put her hands in her pockets. Then she felt that little tingle in her nose, and she turned her head and sneezed – Agh the sweet scents are starting to mess with my sinuses. She needed to get out of this store, but she didn’t want to seem rude and cut the conversation short- so then an idea came to mind. She looked up at the hunter smiling –

“Hey Scuttle, since we’re both Christmas shopping - Would you like to tag along with me? We can catch up more- Some friendly chit chat ya know” She shrugged “or not…..” She didn’t want to force him or anything.

An angry grumble came from Scuttle when Luu started teasing him. The grey-hoodied hunter kept his chin jutted outward and then averted his vision to the side. “Yeah well, it doesn’t matter anyway…” He felt the need to throw something out in his own defense as to why he was perusing around in a woman’s lingerie store.

When Scuttle looked back towards the huntress, he noticed that she was gazing at the top of his head. Oh right… Scuttle reached back over his shoulders until he grabbed his hood and then flipped it safely back over his head. Right where it belonged. Although Scuttle didn’t really mind having his hood down, it did make him less self-conscious about himself. After all, he didn’t want Luu to notice how dirty and grimy his hair always was. He continued to pout and he stuffed his hands into the front of his sweatshirt’s pocket. He trained his eye sockets on Luu, raising a single eyebrow when she suggested leaving the store and hanging out a bit. “Oh God yes please. It smells like a bunch of whores died and are fermenting in here.” Before she could do anything, Scuttle stepped forward and roughly grabbed her by the bicep. Then he turned towards the exit and dragged her out gracelessly, finding the task quite easy since she was so light.

Once they were out of the pink store of death, Scuttle let go of Luu’s upper arm and sucked in a deep breath of clean smelling air. “Ahhh, thank Christ.” He took a step away from the girl and continued to clear his nasal passages with the new air. A snort sounded from him as he shook his head violently like a wild horse. He suddenly remembered that Luu offered that they hang out for a bit more and go Christmas shopping together. The large hunter chewed on his bottom lip as he mulled over the suggestion; it actually didn’t seem like the worse idea in the world. Scuttle always had trouble picking out the right gifts for people, he never really had to do it much after all, and the opinion of a third party would probably help tons. Plus Luu wasn’t emotionally retarded like Scuttle, and was actually a sweet person who was probably pro at shit like this. He sulked forward and stared at Luu unimpressively, “So…who do you have to get gifts for?” Glancing around, Scuttle noticed the crowded halls of the mall, people going every which way with excited kids. Cheerful holiday music continued to play merrily in the backdrop, making Scutte’s insides squirm anxiously. Scuttle hated people, he hated that there were so many of them around him...being all happy and stupid looking. Today would not be a quiet day, and Scuttle bet himself a hundred bucks that he will end up yelling and raging at about ten people while he was stuck in the confides of the shopping centre. “I’ve got to…get some dog stuff.” Scuttle shrugged lamely, almost embarrassed. “I’ve got thr- four dogs I gotta buy shit for.” He blushed a little and pushed his shoulders forward heatedly. Jesus, Scuttle felt like a crazy cat lady except with dogs. Fuckin’ lame. He did after all, care for those canines like they were his own children, which was only more humiliating. Add another point to the lame chart, please. Thanks, asshole.

“Plus Knaw…!” Scuttle remembered him again, pushing the thought of his pets aside to feel a bit more comfortable. The hunter started forward and brushed passed Luu, assuming she would follow so they could start their journey through the huge mall. “And my one bud. Kirk.” He grumbled angrily, “but he’s like super rich and like, has everything in the world that he wants already so I don’t know what to get him.” Scuttle glanced over at Luu to see if she would have any helpful suggestions.

Before Luu could say something- she was being dragged out of the store by the hunter; his grip was strong, easily pulling her along to the exit. The huntress smirked as he made his speedy retreat to leave the store. When they were out she saw Scuttle take in wisps of fresh air like he was suffocating in there- she wouldn’t blame him. She took a moment to check the time on her phone- it was 2PM, still good on time, this shopping expedition shouldn’t take too long- she hoped. She noticed Scuttle turn to face her wearing his usual grimace asking her who she was shopping for.

Luu smiled and look at her list “Ah just a couple friends, and my mom, Nizzy” she looked down the list, quickly double checking if she needed to make any adjustments/add anything. The taller hunter made a mention he needed dog stuff- Scuttle has pets? Luu looked at scuttle, which was glaring at the other civilians walking the mall around them- a small smile caressing her face, he may appear at first as the *mean guy*- but he seems like a- Nice guy. Luu couldn’t help but shrug and shaked her head slightly- male hunters. Scuttle brushed past her- She guessed he was gunna join her, the huntress turned around and tried to keep up with his long strides, due to his long legs. She heard him mumble about getting something for his friend- and made a side glance her way, is he wanting my opinion? Luu pursed her lips “Well, just get him something meaning full- like an object that corresponds with an inside joke, unless you’re going for something funny” Luu rubbed the back of her head, hoping that helped him a bit.

As Luu was able to keep pace with Scuttles strides, a certain store caught her interest and might aid Scuttle in his warring debate on what to get his little brother or maybe his friend too. Luu noticed it was across from them on the other side of the traffic runway of people moving in the opposite direction. She gently pulled on Scuttles sleeve “Hey I think I might have an idea of what you could get Knaw or maybe your friend too” She pointed at the store, with its big teddy bear statues on either side of the entrance way- “Build A Bears”. Luu took hold of Scuttles wrist and started to pull him toward the store “Let’s check it out! And maybe checkout the pet store too- for your four puppies”.

Even though he couldn’t help it, Scuttle felt a little rude when he made a disgusted scoff at Luu’s suggestion to go and play around at Build-A-Bear. He rolled his neck to the side, planning on flat out rejecting her idea and continuing down the plaza when he felt her small hand snag around his wrist. His vision shot back to his wrist with a snarl, not really pulling back from her grip but flexing his claws widely to make it clear he didn’t want to go to Build-A-Fuckin-Faggot-Bear. “Rahg! Luu are you fuckin’ serious?” His eyebrows shot up in a panicked questioning as they neared the bright and colorful store. His lips were still pulled back in a threatening teeth bare. Oh fuck. Oh God. Scuttle thrashed his head around in a pathetic attempt to escape. He could see all of those little brats and their stupid dumbfuck parents frolicking around the store like it was the happiest place on the Earth to be at that moment. The mere sight made Scuttle put his feet down and continue his journey into the store by being dragged forcibly.

Finally, Luu let go of his wrist and he yanked it back. Growling, he really wished he had the balls to put up more of a fight. Scuttle sharply glanced around, an irritated rumbling reverberating from his chest. He knew what the main gist of Build-A-Retarded-Bear was about. It was for kids! “Luu…” He growled out her name, trying to stop himself from snapping his teeth at huntress. “You know part of this stupid thing is for the kids themselves to come here and put together the stupid stuffed animal like some sort of deranged Frankenstein.” He snorted flatly. Looking around, he noticed that this place was pretty expensive, making him want to leave even more. “Just…Just buy them a pre-paid gift card or something for it!” He found himself pulling at his hood in annoyance; he had to find some way to move on away from this horrid place. “If they have em, that’s what I’m getting for Knaw so I don’t have to be here,” he said, stubbornly crossing his arms. “That way my stupid dad can bring him back here or something without me having to suffer through this faggy process.” He hissed and hunched his shoulders up, turning his head to glare at the giant toy stuffer full of fluff near the corner.

A quick glance over towards the bins made Scuttle quirk an eyebrow. He stepped over and peered inside, seeing the empty shells of colored fabric that were supposed to be the stuffed animals before they were…well stuffed. Ugh… Scuttle snarled at them; it was almost disgusting, like empty skin sacks displayed in open baskets like they were on a Vietnamese market street or something. He was about to turn when something glittery caught his gaze. The hunter stopped and walked over towards a smaller bucket towards the window, reaching into it and pulling out a flappy and empty purple dragon. He stared at it for a good minute, debating. It wasn’t one of those cartoony looking faggot dragons either. No no, this badass motherfucker was on all fours like a lizard, wings wide and spreading from its limp shoulder blades. It had sharp looking fabric teeth, claws and spikes all over it. Definitely badass. Scuttle turned it over in his hand, finding the torn open hole in its belly that was probably supposed to be used for shoving fluff into. “Hm…” He turned it over again, actually debating if he should buy this for Kirk. Dragons were something….let’s say ‘special’ to the two hunters. Plus, it was kind of an inside joke that would let the older hunter know that Scuttle was still interested. In… things. Suppressing the pink that was about to dust his cheekbones, Scuttle looked up for the price tag that was mounted cheerfully against the wall above the bin. He gaped, claws sinking into the empty fabric in surprise. “Jesus Christ, you’re one expensive fuck, aren’t you?” He said to the dragon that didn’t even look like a dragon yet. Scuttle grimaced; with forty bucks he could buy two cheap whores! Stupid kids. The corporations just knew the right ways to play their parents into spending their hard-earned cash on overpriced shit like this.

Luu grinned all the more- as she heard the raging fit Scuttle was putting up as she pulled him toward the toy store. “Oh its not that bad, its for a good cause!” She let go of his hand once they were in the store. Luu heard the giggling and squeals of delighted children,saw parents dishing out their credit cards to purchase the cuddly creatures. Luu grimaced listening to Scuttles grumblings, looking in his direction showing a small frown on her face “Oh please, you get gift cards for adults, not kids”. She turned away for a second- rolling her eyes, and started to rummage around in her bag- digging around blindly for something of importance “Argh, where did I put those coupons? I swear if I left them at home I’m gunna- Oh!” Luu happily grinned as she pulled out acouple build-a-bear coupons her mom acquired from a friend at work. Luu had two in her hand reading “50% off”, she could only grin bigger at this big advantage. “I know someones going to have a good Christmas!” And look theres one for Scuttle too, “Speaking of Scuttle………”

Luu then turned back around to find Scuttle not there, she almost thought he might’ve ditched her- as she was about to walk out of the store, expecting to see him sitting on one of those benches. She stopped and couldn’t help but smile, he was standing by a bin- looking at something that must’ve peaked his interest. Luu lightly walked up beside him- wondering what he found, and it sure was pretty cool. Then looked up at the price of the purple dragon, “Ack! That’s a pretty icky price, here-“ She handed him one of the coupons “Shouldn’t be a problem now” lightly patting his shoulder. Luu then reached over into another bin and pulled out a build a bear- blue husky. She liked how it felt, all soft and cute, "It’s the perfect thing for Nizzy to cuddle with at night- so he stops sneaking into my bed all the time. Making excuses that theres a creepy human in his closet" She shrugged "Hes 13 and still can't sleep by himself sometimes", turning her vision up toward the taller hunter "Hey when your ready to stuff that little sucker, I'll be over there-" She pointed to the stuffing machine.

Leaving Scuttles side she went to look for a store clerk to help her with the stuffing, and be done with this store. Because it was getting pretty crowded, and Luu could tell Scuttle didn’t like people much. Getting the attention of a clerk, who was a female smoker- the kind lady had Luu do the little process they had the kids do when they made their build a bears. After it was stuffed and sewed up by the kind lady. Luu held the stuffed husky and giggled, Nizzy loves dogs so this works out just great.

The huntress glanced behind her pursing her lips- she feels kind of bad for forcing the male into a store that defies all his manly macho. She’ll let him choose the next store.

A paper coupon was suddenly shoved under Scuttle’s scarred nose. Reeling back his head slightly from surprise, he glanced over and saw Luu holding it out towards him. The hunter lifted a puzzled eyebrow as he slowly took it from her, he glanced down at it and skimmed over the small print. 50% off any purchase, huh? …OK…well now I would get about one cheap whore with the money I will spend on this stupid shit. He lowered the paper to glance at the empty purple dragon fabric. Scuttle was vaguely aware of Luu yapping on about something next to him, but all he could hear was nag nag nag nag nag.

After about five more minutes of just staring at the empty plushie, someone else approached Scuttle. A young girl who seemed about his age tapped on his shoulder. Becoming startled, Scuttle jumped and jerked his head to whoever poked him with a snarl. The aggressive growling stopped when he noticed that it was an employee. Her blue Build-A- Bear apron and nametag which read ‘Stacy’ were clear evidence of that. She had slightly curly black hair that reached down past her shoulders and a large beaming grin that took up most of her face. Already Scuttle could feel his irritation with this girl rising. Her smile was too big and she looked… Too. Happy. “Oh sorry about that!” She chirped, “I didn’t mean to scare you.” Scuttle winced when she opened her mouth and started laughing. It sounded so fake.

“Right…” Scuttle growled, eyebrows furrowing into a deeper scowl. His shoulders tensed and he moved the dragon behind himself, pivoting his body to face the girl.

“Oh!...” Stacy seemed to be looking down at Scuttle’s hand. The hunter followed her gaze and saw that they fell on the coupon that Luu had just given him. “Hey you have our coupon! Are you planning on building your new best friend today?” She squealed loudly, spreading her arms out wide and hugging herself.

It took every ounce of Scuttle’s willpower not to take his fist and punch it through this dumb bitch’s front teeth. The large hunter’s eyebrow twitched, “No.” He pulled the empty dragon out from behind his back and shoved it at the girl’s face, not giving her enough time to grab it before he let go. “I just want this thing to stop looking like a scrotum. Make it like a normal stuffed animal with stuff before I spend my money somewhere else!” He growled and started to bare his teeth at the girl, wanting her to just stop smiling so god damn much.

Somehow Stacy had managed to grab the purple dragon fabric sack before it fell to the ground, her smile not faltering in the slightest. “Well of course! That’s the whole point here at Build-A-Bear! Part of building your new friend from scratch creates a special bond that will be between you two forever!” She grabbed the dragon’s little arms and wiggled them around while holding it up to Scuttle’s face who promptly shoved it away.

“Alright enough of that!” He hissed, about ready to tear the dragon in half.

Stacy just giggled obnoxiously and then grabbed Scuttle’s sleeve. “Alright Mr. Grumpy face, let’s stuff this lil’ guy for you.” She dragged him over toward the large machine that had a giant glass globe on top that was swirling with soft white fluff.

“Wow, that sounds really gay.” Scuttle said flatly, yanking his arm back. His nose wrinkled in annoyance as he watched Stacy sit down on a stool in front of the fluffing apparatus. She looked up at Scuttle with a huge goofy smile. He glared at her; how dare she keep smiling when he was obviously being a dick and trying to piss her off.

However, she seemed to not hear what he said and reached over to a large basket full of small velvet hearts. “Now…these are very special, here.” She took one and gave it to Scuttle, who had no choice but to accept it. “These are your new best friend’s heart.” Stacy smiled warmly as she continued, “ You hold it close to your heart and wish big. Wish bigger than you’ve ever wished in your whole life!” Her eyes seemed to sparkle with passion. “Then you spin around three times, with your eyes closed, and then finally you put the heart to your lips and give it a kiss. That way your friend will get a soul that you’ll be able to have a bond with!” Stacy practically melted into the sigh she let escape from her mouth.

Scuttle stared at Stacy with a look that said, ‘are-you-fucking-kidding-me-right-now’. No way in fucking hell would Scuttle ever humiliate himself like that in front of others. Fuck! He wouldn’t even do that by himself when no one was looking! Did fucktarded children and their parents actually do this shit? They actually paid to look like a faggot in front of all their friends and family to trick them into thinking a fluff filled fabric sack actually having a soul. Without tearing his murder-filled glare from Stacy’s stupid face, he popped the velvet heart into his mouth. He chomped down on it angrily for about four seconds, efficiently tearing it to tiny fluffy bits. Scuttle then spit the pieces into Stacy’s face. The girl maybe blinked once or twice, but that’s all she did. That stupid giddy open mouthed smile was still eating up her face. “Fuck that.” Scuttle said firmly, crossing his arms. “Hurry up and do your job before I cunt-punch you.” He glare bore into her eyes, hoping she would get the message to hop down from faggot carebear land and get this the fuck over with.

She stared at him awkwardly, as if she didn’t understand if the hunter was joking or not. Then she finally broke her gaze and looked down at the dragon in her hands. “…Right!” Still grinning like an idiot, she flipped the creature upside-down until she located the torn hole on its belly. Stacy then opened the hole a bit more and secured it on a tube that was sticking out of the globe. Immediately a loud whooshing noise started up and the little dragon started filling up with stuffing. Its limp legs and arms started to get stiffer and take form. Scuttle rolled his neck, finding this process stupid and tedious. It would be so much faster if they already had these things premade. Then Stacy started talking again, which earned her another growl from Scuttle. “There! He’s all done! ….eventhoughhedoesn’thaveaheart, BUT that’s okay! He still loves you!” Stacy turned in her stool and waved the dragon up at the hunter, but then she stopped when Scuttle snorted. She quickly flipped the dragon over on her lap and sewed it up nice and tightly so no fluff could escape. Stacy grinned and held it up towards Scuttle, “Here you go. He’s all ready for you now!”

“Yeah fuckin’ finally-“ He was about to grab it when it was suddenly yanked from his outstretched claws. “Hey!”

“Ahh… wait you still have to go print out his birth certificate!” Stacy cheered, holding the dragon up against her cheek.

Scuttle leaned forward and snatched the stuffed animal from her grip anyway, “Like hell I’m doing that shit! It’s a fuckin’ stuffed animal! It doesn’t need fuckin’ papers!” His growled loudly, seriously hanging onto the last of his nerves. Stacy didn’t seem to realize the impending fury that she was about to release from Scuttle and hopped up from her stool.

“Don’t worry! It will only take a second!” She pranced around Scuttle’s body and then pushed on his arm, forcing him to move towards the other side of the store. The hunter almost elbowed her in the nose before finally removing himself from her and hissing.

“Don’t touch meee!” His sharp teeth snapped at her in annoyance. Looking forward, he saw that he was suddenly in front of a row of computers. Oh God. Computers! If his mom Animus saw this, she would flip twenty shits and ground Scuttle for life! He clutched the dragon plushie to his chest and hissed loudly at the computers. “What the fuck, why do you have these here?!” He was taught from his mother that home computers were like slaves in her metaphorical eyes.

“You have to name it! See…” she pointed to one of the default screens. “ You just type in the name you want to-“ Scuttle slammed his fist down on the keyboard, making the giant letters ‘thg34t’ appear on the screen. She blinked and looked at the screen. “Oh cool name! Very original!” She seemed happier in that moment, before she grabbed the mouse and clicked on a few buttons on the screen. Stacy started whistling merrily as the printer next to the computer started humming, spitting out Thg34t’s birth certificate. She plucked it out of the printer tray and handed it to Scuttle, “Here you go! Now you can take Thgthirtyfourts to the checkout counter and pay for him!” Stacy clasped her hands together when Scuttle snatched the paper. “You two are so cute together, Aaahheeee!” She squee’d. Scuttle finally had enough of Stacy’s cheerful shit and just shoved her away.

“Bitch outta my way!” The angry and pissed off hunter stomped up to the counter, dragon and crumpled papers tucked under his arm tightly. He threw everything before the cashier and growled at him, slapping the coupon Luu gave him on top of it all. “Fuckin’ hell…this stupid thing takes longer to make than adopting a kid! This place sucks ass!” He crumpled up Thg34t’s birth certificate and then shoved it in his pocket, planning on throwing it out later when he passed a trash can. Scuttle just reeked of frustration, rolling off of his body and making the shrimpy shiver in fear. “Get me something for my little brother to come in here later! I ain’t spending another fuckin’ minute in this faggy place! A gift card or some shit!” He slammed his fist on the counter, rattling the little knickknacks that were placed on it.

The teenager quickly punched in some numbers into the cash register and run up the price. He took off fifty percent of the whole transaction, making the total back up to forty. Scuttle glared at the innocent teenager while reaching into his wallet. The aggravated hunter pulled out two dirty twenty dollar bills and then threw them at the employee. The scared teen yelped and then practically threw the gift card at Scuttle in defense, holding his long skinny arms up over his head in protection. Finally satisfied, Scuttle shoved his wallet and gift card back into his pocket and grabbed all the shit he just bought. He turned on his heel and stalked out of the store, making sure to knock down a display for little bear shoes down on his way out.

Scuttle growled loudly as he approached Luu, who was waiting outside of the store by a bench. He seethed angrily at her, “Never again….” A low growl rumbled from his throat, continuing past her down the plaza. That was pretty much the worse experience Scuttle had ever had to live through that involved a mall. So. Faggy. Fuckin’ Christ.

The huntress left the store in a hurry- when she witnessed the first act of Scuttles seething fits toward the very smiley clerk lady. Luu decided would be best to await her partner outside at a bench- at a safe distance and silently hope that he doesn’t start a riot. She stood by the bench, chuckling when she heard Scuttles raging from inside the store, as she scrolled through her messages on her phone- noticing her mom left her acouple texts recently.

Mom: [When are you coming home?]

“Uh- “Luu started texting her mom estimated time her return home might be-

Luu: [Hopefully before 6, I found a shopping buddy for the day! 8D – Tell Nizzy to feed the rabbit.]

Luu touched send on the screen. Hoping her mom wouldn’t pry on about who the shopping *partner* might be- Luu just tell her later, if she asked that is. Its not like it bothers Luu that she’s hanging out with Scuttle- even though hes well known for being a complete douchebag and or the biggest dick that walked the earth, well that’s from what she heard anyway- ands its pretty spot on. But she made it a motto not to judge anyone until you got to know them or something. She shrugged, rolling her eyes “Everyone has their opinions I guess”. Letting out a sigh, she felt a sweat coming on because of her winter coat- kind of pointless to be wearing in a store with heating. Setting her bags on the bench and shrugging the black winter coat from her small shoulders, revealing her usual attire- blue hoody and the green/pink striped shirt underneath. Putting her shoulder bag back on, wrapping the coat on one arm, holding the build-a-bear box thingy in another.

She heard a deep growling coming closer- looking back toward the entrance she saw Scuttle walk up to her voicing his promise never to go near the store again and walked past her. Luu chuckled again, cause it was entertaining seeing him do the tango with the store clerk. She walked up beside him “Oh come on- at least you survived, and left without causing a riot” she couldn’t help but laugh “It was kind of funny- the whole scene”. Luu adjusted her bag on her shoulder, and folded her arms with the coat pressed against her chest, holding the box in one hand- with alittle smirk playing on her lips. Looking around at the stores as they walked by- most of them were different clothing stores, some shoes stores too- but Luu didn’t need anything from there, plus she didn’t want to drag Scuttle into those kinds of stores. Oh no that would not be a pretty scene- but it would be entertaining to watch.

There were a lot of people here today- especially mothers carrying tons of bags filled with soon to be wrapped presents- that would be placed under a Christmas tree- awaiting to be opened by eager hands. And the husband being the carrier of all the heavy items and anything else the wife would stack on the already heaping pile. Luu hoped there would be anything left in the stores, if everyone was making it big like that. Maybe shopping before black Friday would’ve been better- if she wasn't working that day. The pretty mall decorations were brightening up the place nicely, Luu just hoped she didn’t happened to walk under a mistletoe- oh that be bad, it could end like – like last time.

She shivered slightly, she dared not think about it, it twas terrible, and humiliating. Shaking her hooded head to knock the nightmare fuel from her brunette head. She gave Scuttle aside glance “Have any stores in mind you want to stop by?” tilting her head slightly, her brown hair swishing to the side. Her black dilated eyes peaking from under the indigo hoodie.

Snaggle began her trek through the mall, which promptly followed her purchase at Viper’s Pet Supply Store. Her first stop that day in the mall was her favorite place in the mall; Teavanna. She loved this store and bought numerous things from them: tea brewers, tea pots, tea sets, tea, anything. She had gone in to speak with one of her favorite employees. Her name was Catherine before she had it legally changed to Crystal. When she thought of that name she kind of thought of the Shore Sugar they sold in their store that, as anyone could tell by seeing them, looked like topaz crystals. After speaking with her, Snaggle was jewed into buying some more tea, a more Christmas-ready blend.

The tea was bold cinnamon flavor to it, but didn’t overpower the black tea to the point where she felt like she had just chewed on a cinnamon stick for few minutes. The blend was smooth and perfect. It left a warm tingle in the back of her throat and a pleasant after-taste on her taste buds. It was just all-around a nice blend. Therefore, she could now head home and enjoy a peaceful night by herself. Just her and a warm cup of tea.

Snaggle believed it felt nice when you could walk around during the holidays and just enjoy everything. Just to be able to smile for no reason and not feel stupid because it was, of course, the holidays felt great. She sighed happily as she exited Teavanna. Her home-manicured claws gripped the bag as it swung gently next her, the faint aroma of the blend she bought wafted up occasionally. Her heightened smell increased the pleasure of this simple thing, and she was thankful that it had.

Her nose wrinkled as a less pleasant smell began to creep its way toward her nostrils. Snaggle pulled her mind from its reverie and looked around for something resembling a wet dog or trashcan. Instead of finding either of those, she saw Scuttle and another female hunter congregating outside of Build-A-Bear Workshop. There’s an odd place to find someone like him. She sauntered up, realizing she had run into Scuttle a lot lately. The town must be smaller than I had regarded. With a smile on her face, she walked up to the two of them and said hello. Her face sort of distorted with inquiry, seeing him with this other girl.

“Hey, Scuttle.” She glanced between the two hunters. “Who’s this?” Snaggle questioned politely, though she did wonder if Scuttle would pick up on the fact that she knew his real name. According to him, his name was Chase or some shit. At least that’s what he told her. She was 100% sure that Scuttle was in fact his name.

Growling, Scuttle jerked his head in Luu’s direction and gnashed his teeth. “Well maybe I WANTED to start a fuckin’ riot! Make all those retards beg for their lives!” His claws dug into the dragon’s soft plush stomach. To prevent himself from causing it any damage, he forced himself to calm down. The hunter snorted like an aggravated horse and turned away from the huntress. There was no time to throw a fit; he had more Christmas shopping to do. He can’t go to Kirk on Christmas offering just a stupid little kid toy. He glanced down at the dragon under his arm and sneered at it. Fuck you dragon. Give me something else to get for Kirk! Jesus…. I HATE shopping for that stupid faggot! He’s impossible to get shit for! RrrhghghRhghgh…. Scuttle rubbed his scruffy chin with a knuckle while he tried to think of things that Kirk liked. The only thing that came to mind was women-FFFFFFFFF and cooking. He blinked, how ironic. He likes women but would totally do all the cooking anyway if he was married to one. Scuttle frowned at how fucking wrong that was! Totally against nature! Women were the ones who belonged in the kitchen.

The thought of imagining Kirk with a woman again made Scuttle start to dwell on their own relationship that they had with each other. Well… I GUESS…it’s okay that he likes to do the cooking…cause I sure as hell don’t. I can’t even cook anything if I even WANTED to… And I did like it when he made delicious foods for me back when I used to chill at his mansion all the time. Then suddenly, Scuttle got an idea. “OH SHIT.” He said aloud, stopping in his tracks. Luu kept going until she noticed Scuttle wasn’t alongside her anymore and looked over her shoulder. Scuttle looked at her hidden eye sockets sternly. “I need to get a recipe book or something. Where the fuck am I going to ge-“ Wait… that smell. A certain scent drifted past his nose and caused him to stop in mid-sentence. He growled and flipped around on his heel, finding him face to face with, YEP…. That chick from the grocery store… and the pet store. OH! And let’s not forget about her umbrella. There was something almost unnerving about the whole situation, it’s like they couldn’t get away from each other. (Not like Scuttle was even TRYING to or anything, but still. He never coincidentally ran into the same person this frequently. Or maybe he had just never really remembered them quite like this huntress.)

Snaggle nodded towards Luu, wondering who she was. Scuttle looked at the brunette, quirking an eyebrow at her. “Uh… That’s… Luu. She’s my…,” Friend? Fuck no. Associate? Not even. He furrowed his eyebrows together and turned back to face Snaggle, “We went to high school together.” He finished flatly, answering her question without realizing that Snaggle used his real name. From his expression he didn’t look too pleased by that fact that he went to school with Luu, but his expression always looked either angry or disappointed. In truth, he didn’t mind Luu that much. She was tolerable. Somehow. Sniffing a bit more, he noticed a strong scent of seasonal spices and tea leaves coming from Snaggle. He stared down at the bag she was holding and saw that she had purchased something from Teavanna. The hunter grunted to himself softly. At least she knows to buy the good shit. He thought vaguely. Scuttle liked tea. He liked tea a lot; although that was a fact he rarely bothered to share with anyone. And none of that shitty filtered bag-on-a-string would cut it for him, so he assumed it wouldn’t for SnaggleFace here either. He guessed he could give her props for that…or something.

Luu was abit startled at his stern stare when she turned her head around to see why Scuttle stopped. Only to learn he had a sudden epiphany- Recipe book? or does he mean a cook book? And what kind exactly? There are millions of different recipe books- I guess any would suffice. She was about to answer Scuttles sudden request to know where to find- this particular recipe book. Luu was going to name off acouple department stores in the mall, that could possible aid him in his search. Then the smell of sweet tea leaves drifted through her nostrils. Then a young pretty huntress was standing acouple feet away, talking to Scuttle.

The situation changed yet again, another has joined their group- on first glance this huntress knew Scuttle,must be friends. The other female asked who Luu was- but before Luu could introduce herself- Scuttle had that settle, though said it kind of flatly. Well they weren’t really friends- just acquaintances. She shrugged, if she had eyes- she’d roll them right about now. Stepping up to the other huntress, smiling extending her hand in a polite gesture-

“Hi- I’m Luu, nice to meetcha” she nodded in Scuttles direction “Just Christmas shoppin”, a short recollection of the build-a- bear incident and the reunion in the Victoria secret store. A chuckled left her lips. But getting a good look at the huntress she looked like a fun person- oh and she knows her tea, well isn’t that just simply splendid- is what her mom would say. She liked tea- but her favorite was either starbucks coffee or hot apple cider. It smelled good too “So uhm- that tea - from Teavanna?” she pointed to the bag the female held.